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Sir Rupert sighed and poured himself a second whiskey "I don’t kno he survived, but he did My information is impeccable"
The third man in the room, Lord Gavin Walker, stirred in his ar and broad, his hands the size of ha he wore, one would never guess he was an aristocrat In fact, his family line dated back to the Normans Walker withdrew a jeweled snuffbox from his coat pocket, deposited a pinch of snuff on the back of his hand, and inhaled it There was a pause; then he sneezed explosively and employed a handkerchief
Sir Rupert winced and looked away Filthy habit, snuff
"I don’t understand, Jah is dead and we have no further worries, and then he resurrects hientleman?"
Sir Rupert leaned back in his desk chair and looked at the ceiling as he waited for the inevitable outburst from James His study walls were a ht by a cream chair rail A thick black and criold velvet curtains muffled the street noise fro on the walls He’d started the collection with a small study of a Chrysanthemum parthenium--feverfew--that he’d found in a bookshop over thirty years ago now The print was not a good one It had a water stain in the corner, and the engraved Latin naed, but the coht it at a ti between two ra--ant Cynara cardunculus Cardoon
His wife, children, and servants knew never to disturb hiencies Which ive up his personal doht with them
"Sure? Of c-c-course I’littered as it flew through the air "They brought that back tofellow, could ht the object and exa"
The hairs on the back of Sir Rupert’s neck stood up "Dammit, Ja with dangerous idiots
"Didn’t h d-d-dead" James looked petulant
"Except that he’s not dead anymore, is he? Thanks to the incompetence of your men" Sir Rupert tossed back a healthy s of his whiskey "Give it to et rid of it"
"S-s-see here--"
"He’s right," Walker interrupted "It’s evidence we don’t want" He crossed the roo on Sir Rupert’s desk
Sir Rupert stared at the ring The Iddesleigh crest was shallow, the gold eroded with age How ? He covered it with his hand and pal it to his waistcoat pocket
Covertly, heunder the table His father had been an import reat storehouse his father had rain and heavy crates of merchandise He didn’t re--not entirely, at least Only the smell of the cod packed in salt that had spilled from the broken barrel And the pain of the sh to turn his stomach
Sir Rupert looked at his partners and wondered if they’d ever worked a day in their lives
"What do you know?" Ja to help so far I was the one who seconded Peller"
"AndEthan Iddesleigh I advised against it" Walker took out his snuffbox again
Ja "You d-d-did not!"
The big man was unperturbed as he ritually ht we should do it inning, damn your eyes!"
"No" Walker sneezed He shook his head slowly as he again withdrew his handkerchief froht it foolish Too bad you didn’t listen to ed at Walker
The bigger man stepped aside, and James stumbled past coain
"Gentleainst the desk to draw their attention "Please We are wandering froh?"
"Are we certain he is alive?" Walker insisted The ed
"Yes" Sir Rupert continued rubbing his aching leg He would have to put it up after this conference, and it would be no good to him for the ree in Kent"
James frowned "How do you know this?"
"That doesn’ttoo closely there "What’s ih to send for his valet Once he’s recovered sufficiently, no doubt he’ll return to London And we all knohat he’ll do then"